Cat Urinates on Chicago Voting Machine, Forcing Shutdown
Election officials in Cook County took a voting machine offline in Logan Square after a cat jumped onto it and urinated on its touchscreen. Votes cast before the incident were saved and voting continued on backup machines.
Key points
- A cat entered a Logan Square polling place shortly before 11 a.m. and urinated on a voting machine's touchscreen.
- Technicians determined the unit could not be safely returned to service and removed it from the floor.
- Officials said ballots cast before the incident were saved to redundant storage and were unaffected.
CHICAGO, Nov. 3, 2026 — Election officials in Cook County were forced to take one voting machine offline for the remainder of the day after a cat jumped onto the device and urinated on its touchscreen, according to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.
The incident occurred shortly before 11 a.m. at a polling location in the Logan Square neighborhood.
Cat Enters Polling Place
Witnesses said the cat, which appeared to be a domestic shorthair with no collar, entered the building when a voter held the door open. It moved quickly past poll workers, leapt onto the voting machine, and urinated directly on the screen before being grabbed by a staff member.
The ballots that were completed before the cat made contact with the machine are secure. We had backup machines on site and voting continued without significant delay.
— a spokesperson for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners
Machine Removed From Service
Technicians from the county's election equipment vendor arrived within 40 minutes. After inspection, they determined the machine could not be safely returned to service. The unit was powered down, sealed, and removed from the floor.
Officials said all votes cast on the machine prior to the incident had already been saved to redundant storage and were unaffected.
Voting Continues Without Delay
Poll workers closed off the affected station and redirected voters to the remaining machines. The board said it is reviewing footage from the location's security cameras to determine exactly how the cat entered the building.
Animal control was contacted, but the cat had left the premises by the time officers arrived. No other equipment was damaged, and officials said they do not expect the incident to affect overall vote tabulation in the city.
The machine will undergo a full forensic check after Election Day before any decision is made about its future use.
